Lost

The US drama sensation crash-landed on Channel 4 last night when an implausibly good-looking bunch of 20-somethings with dark secret-strewn pasts find themselves stranded with a flaming plane wreck "1,000 miles off course" on a South Pacific island, threatened by a mysterious terror that left the pilot strung up in the tree-tops by the end of episode one.

Lost: 'Just as it looked as if things were about to go all Lord of the Flies... what we actually got was far more like Jaws'

The Guardian, Nancy Banks-SmithVerdict: Recommended for everyone except those terrified of flying "Lost is a tremendous holiday yarn, a page turner with lots of lovely production poured over it... Half the fun in this sort of thing is spotting the expendable, who are likely to get it in the neck."

The Times, Ian JohnsVerdict: the latest example of tease TV "The series turns out to be the latest example of tease TV, an endless come-on that, like the X-Files and Twin Peaks, will end up raising more questions than it answers... But for anyone who was let down by Mulder and Scully's final revelations, or stopped caring who killed Laura Palmer and prefers the urgency of 24, Lost is destined to be one of those shows that you won't feel the need to watch but hope that a friend can keep you posted."

Daily Mail, Jaci StephensVerdict: boring piece of tripe "The much-hyped series is a badly conceived, appallingly executed, boring piece of tripe. It owes nothing to the tradition of imaginative, often brilliant American TV drama, and everything to the worst American movies ever made."

Daily Express, Virginia BlackburnVerdict: an absolute treat "From the moment our hero Jack comes round in a jungle - never has greenery looked so ominous - and sets off at speed towards a nearby beach, we were in for a cracker...Can't wait to see what happens next."

Daily Telegraph, Gerard O'DonovanVerdict: relentless and exciting "Just as it looked as if things were about to go all Lord of the Flies... what we actually got was far more like Jaws - in its relentless pace, brooding sense of menace and delight in scaring the pants off audiences... Whether this excitement can be sustained over 25 episodes seems unlikely. But ratings in American grew exponentially as the series progressed."